Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
According to the report, the increased range and use of Ukrainian drones are forcing Russian commanders to use alternative methods to replenish their losses.
Russian forces are reportedly reshuffling personnel on the southern front as battlefield pressures intensify.
According to the Ukrainian partisan movement Atesh, military commanders have begun transferring medical staff into combat roles amid mounting casualties at the front in southern Ukraine.
Agents linked to Atesh within Russia’s 28th Motorized Rifle Regiment operating in the Kherson region say therapists, paramedics, and male nurses have been reassigned to frontline trenches.
Evacuation unit members are also being issued rifles and deployed to fight, the movement reported, citing sources inside the regiment.
The claims could not be independently verified. Moscow has not publicly commented on the allegations.
Wider supply issues
Ukrainian intelligence has previously reported that wounded fighters recruited from the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics face difficulties accessing treatment inside Russia.
One battalion from the Union of Donbas Volunteers reportedly suffered heavy losses near Avdiivka but was unable to secure proper medical assistance, intelligence sources said.
Frontline units are also grappling with communications disruptions following reported Starlink satellite internet outages.
Efforts to find replacement systems have so far proven unsuccessful, according to the same sources.
Mounting battlefield strain
According to a report from Atesh, the shift in southern Ukraine comes as Ukrainian drone operations expand, increasing pressure on Russian positions.
“Against the backdrop of sharply increased activity of Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, which, according to Russian soldiers themselves, ‘appear everywhere and constantly’ within a 25-kilometer zone, the number of wounded is growing daily. But there is no one to treat or evacuate them,” Atesh reports.
The group claims both combat and non-combat losses are rising as a result of the medical shortfall.
Russian troops have been widely complaining about inadequate frontline care, with some allegedly going months without essential treatment or fresh dressings, according to the movement.
Sources: Atesh movement, Ukrainian intelligence reports
